When The Dawn Comes Up
by Snows Of Yester-Year
Summary: A collection of Legend of Korra oneshots.
1. The Morning Star

**A/N: **So since Avatar was such a huge emotional sinkhole of feelings for me and Korra looks completely amazing, I've already been writing oneshots for it. This is just where I'm gonna stick them for now, and where I'll keep putting them once the show airs if they're not long enough to be stand-alone oneshots by my standards.

I'm going to do my best to avoid including spoilers from the leaks, but some from _officially_ released clips may slip through.

This first oneshot is the result of the clip that was released last night (well last night for me) and the speculation with my friends that followed. It was the clip of Korra bending all three elements as a kid. We wondered why she might have been able to do that, what impact it might have on her spirituality, why there hasn't been any promotional material of her in the Avatar State (since there was TONS) with Aang, etc. This is the result.

* * *

><p>Korra knew in theory, in <em>principle, <em>that seeing the moon should make her feel something. She remembered her old masters talking about her and her classmates about the moon, explaining that it had been the first Waterbender, talking about the special place the moon spirit held in the heart of the Water Tribe and telling them about the Northern Water Tribe princess who had become the moon spirit some seventy years prior.

Korra knew all of this, internalized it, remembered it, knew both names for the spirit and knew how the spirit came about, knew it's mate's name, knew its identity and knew where to find it, knew how Waterbending originated and why her Waterbending was freakishly strong at night when a full moon made her limbs and the snakes of her water glow. But as she sat outside of the small café, the dimly lit boulevard empty save for the tendrils of lively music and laughter of her companions that wove through the air, all she saw when she craned her neck back to take a look at the inky night sky and the pale, smoky-looking moon that adorned it was a big hunk of rock.

"You're gonna hurt your neck sitting like that," Bolin admonished in a cheery voice. "C'mon, have another tea."

Not budging from her deeply uncomfortable position, she reached forward, swiping absently at the air above the table. Someone guided her coffee cup into her hand, allowing her to evade catastrophe. She finally tipped her head up so she could take a swig of the cooling drink.

"What were you looking at, anyhow?" Bolin asked, taking a drink of his own tea.

She gestured carelessly at the sky over her shoulder, setting her mug down. "Just the moon."

"Like you don't see it every night," Mako deadpanned.

She snatched up a bean curd puff from the bowl in the middle of the table and chucked it at him. "Quiet."

"What about the moon?" Bolin asked, glancing up at it.

She shrugged. "I was just...trying to see what it did for me, I guess," she responded evasively, taking another sip of her tea.

Mako and Bolin exchanged a blank stare. Bolin shrugged and took another drink, whereas Mako glanced back over at Korra. "Does it look any different from how it does back where you lived?"

She furrowed her brow at him. "The moon?"

"No," he deadpanned sarcastically, "I mean all of those _other _floating orbs up there."

She snorted. "Well," she said slowly, glancing back up at the sky, "the moon is a _bit _different. It looks closer at the south pole, somehow...and the color is a little different." She tilted her head to the side, silently contemplating it. "And the edges aren't as sharp here...and, of course, you can't see the stars here."

Bolin nudged his tea aside and leaned heavily on the table, his head in one hand and his expression downright dreamy. Mako looked as though he would like nothing more than to punch him out of his chair.

"What do the stars look like, Korra?" Bolin asked in a sweet tone, and she knew right away that this was another transparent effort on his part to hit on her. "Are they as pretty as you?"

"Nope," she said flippantly. "I'm as good as it gets."

"I hate you both," Mako muttered into his own tea.

"The stars are really nice, though," she continued thoughtfully. "They're..." she paused, looking for the words. How on earth do you describe the stars?

"I know what they look like in _theory_," Bolin said, squinting up at the sky. "Small, right? A lot smaller than the moon, but white. And bright. And sort of glittery."

"So they just look like glitter," Mako said, pouring himself more tea.

"That sounds dumb, Mako."

"That is more or less what they look like," Korra confirmed absently, "but there's more to them than that."

They watched her expectantly, and she heaved a sigh.

"It's big," she said slowly. "Not the stars themselves, but the sky when you're looking at them. There's just so many of them, and you get overwhelmed." She stroked the edge of her cup and contemplated the blank sky above the buildings. "It's not so bad when the moon is out. It gives you something solid to focus on, something...tangible...real? Not that the stars aren't, but there's so many...ah, hell with it, I'm talking in circles."

"I guess it's one of those things you have to see for yourself, huh?" Bolin said, his lips quirking in a small grin.

"Probably," she confirmed with a smile of her own. "You guys will have to see it one of these days. It'd be a bit of a pain to go back down to the south pole, but we could just take a quick trip to the country and that'd do the trick..."

Suddenly and without warning, Korra was inundated with a wave of homesickness. Cutting herself off, she turned to stare hard at the moon. It was late, so late at night that it was practically morning, and the swollen waxing moon was just starting to hide its face behind the towering city buildings. The moon had never been a great source of comfort for her, certainly not as great as it should have been, but its pale, familiar surface should have offered her _some _semblance of solace – except the moon here barely resembled the moon at home.

She expelled a sigh, turning back to her tea. Serves her right for putting her stock in spirit stories.

"What time's it?" she muttered, lifting one hand to rub her eyes.

Mako pulled out his pocketwatch and opened it.

"Two-thirty," he said, lifting one eyebrow. "I didn't realize it was that late. We've gotta get some sleep."

"Telling me," she muttered, pulling out enough coins to cover her food and drink and tossing them on the table. "Gotta be up at eight to train with Master Airhead."

"We're running drills at the arena tomorrow at an hour past noon," Mako reminded her as she stood. "Try to be on time?"

She hand-waved his command. "I've got it, Mako, no worries."

"Sleep some, Korra," Bolin admonished lightly. "You're useless if you're dead on your feet."

She made a face at him before turning down the street towards the harbor, waving over her shoulder. "See you two tomorrow."

"See you."

"Goodnight, Korra!"

* * *

><p>The boat she had crossed to the city on was waiting for her in the harbor. It was a small, Water Tribe-style craft, the type a lone bender could swiftly and efficiently operate. She made it back to the island sanctuary that served as her home for the time being at a few minutes past three. She tied up her boat and made her way down the pier, across the beach, and up the path, her mind swimming all the while. She quietly blamed her exhaustion, but that did little to silence her prattling brain.<p>

When she reached the fork in the pathway, she paused. Going left would take her to the residential part of the island, where she lived for the time being along with Tenzin and his family. She'd go directly into the house, stumble to her room, and collapse for some much needed sleep.

To the right, however...to the right was the path that led most directly to the temple, as well as the smaller side path that would take her to a small, quiet, well-kept temple that she typically avoided for reasons she didn't like to dwell on.

After a moment of hesitation, she went right, climbing to the top of the island in silence. The moonlight, minimal as it was, gave the buildings a somewhat ethereal glow. She ignored the gates and gardens, the sacrosanct main temple and the intricate mosaic work, and took the smaller side path. It was narrow but well-kept, weeds at bay and flagstones in fair shape. She felt eerily at ease, taking this path. The first time she had visited the small temple, Tenzin's disclosure of it's purpose had sent a brief shock through her, but that was the extent of her reaction. She couldn't help but feel like that wasn't normal.

She paused at the bottom of the wide, low steps, peering into the temple. There were no walls, nothing terribly ornate; just four solemn pillars holding up the sweeping teal roof that guarded the gleaming marble tomb from the worst of the elements.

Her predecessor, not ten feet in front of her.

Her feet hesitated for a moment before carrying her forward. She stopped at the top of the steps. In front of the sarcophagus, which was laid out horizontal from the angle she approached it, was a small slab of marble that had a few words carved into it in simple but elegant calligraphy.

"_Avatar Aang._

_Friend and father,_

_Husband and savior,_

_Wager of peace."_

The words struck her as being almost hilariously corny, although she supposed it could be worse. She made a mental note to forbid her family from putting such a thing on any markers she would get. "She liked kicking ass" would do just as well.

To the right of the marker was a small box of incense and a simple bowl in which to burn it; to the left, a small bundle of flowers – from Jinora, probably. The girl came here at least once a week. She dragged Korra along very soon after she'd arrived on the island, and made Korra stay while she sat and left some flowers and burned some incense and said a silent prayer and _chattered on or what felt like hours _to her dead grandfather. The entire thing struck Korra as being extremely bizarre, especially since Jinora had never met the man, but whatever made the girl happy, she supposed.

Korra didn't think there was much point in talking to him. He was dead, after all. This was just his body. His spirit, she knew all too well, had been elsewhere for some seventeen years. She should, in theory, be able to talk to him whenever she wanted, of course. Other Avatars could talk to their past lives, gleaning advice and knowledge, but Korra had never managed such a thing. She doubted that prayers and ritual would help. Still, she plucked a piece of incense from the box and lit it with her Firebending, sticking the end that wasn't burning into the censor and clasping her hands together, bowing her head in a simple prayer her mother taught her.

"May the spirits of the planet guide my path," she recited dutifully, staring blankly at the inscription. "May the ocean spirit guard me. May the moon spirit offer..."

She trailed off, lifting her head to scowl lightly at the tomb. _This _was absurd. Years of working with sages and White Lotus members couldn't do a thing for her, but an old kid's prayer and some dizzying smoke was going to help? As if. She was wasting her time.

She crossed her arms hard over her chest and stared at the tomb. She felt nothing when she looked at it. It was just like the moon – a cold hunk of rock that she really should feel something about, but she couldn't coax her emotions into anything but boredom and mild irritation when she looked at it.

"You could give me a hand, you know," she muttered to him, her tone petulant and accusatory. "You knew the moon spirit, didn't you? Can't you put in a good word for me? Help her help me out a little?"

Silence. The smoke from her incense curled around her, making her want to cough.

"Your son is gonna send up me up the nearest wall," she deadpanned. "You can't cut me any break, oh great and powerful protector of the world?"

Silence rang again, and she sighed heavily, sitting back on her heels. After a moment hovering in that position, waiting for something she didn't dare to hope for or articulate, she pushed herself to her feet, dusting herself off and making her way out of the temple and down the path without another word.

Behind her, the incense continued to burn, the smoke lacing through the dark sky, threading through the moons light before the cool night air dissipated it, as though the smoke had never been there at all.


	2. When I Say Jump

The Firebending sifu they found for her was a real piece of work. He lacked the resilient patience her Waterbending sifu had displayed when dealing with her, as well as her Earthbending sifu's stoic amusement at her antics. Instead, he was stiff and humorless, his emotions running a shallow gamut of bored to irritated to outright angry. At least he had some passion when she got him mad, she told herself.

And, boy, could she get him _mad_.

They must not have warned him about her. Doubtless he had dealt with plenty of _spirited _pupils before, being a Firebending instructor, but that didn't mean he was ready for Korra. She was tackling each new move with a freakish amount of enthusiasm, like she always did when learning bending, ignoring his tired words of caution in favor of the sheer, raw joy that surged through her when trying a new form. It was after a particularly fervent volley of fire from her hands lit his robes aflame that he finally snapped.

"AVATAR!" he bellowed as he brought the fire under control, bringing her to a skidding halt.

"What?" she asked blankly. She then noticed the smoke and the fury on his face. "Oh. Sorry, Sifu."

He made a gruff, agitated noise, advancing on her. "What did I tell you about that form?"

She cockily put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to one side, contemplating him as though she didn't understand why she was being lectured. "To not put too much force behind it."

"And did you listen?"

"No."

Her brazen defiance made him sputter for a moment before he finally brought himself back under control, his eyes narrowed in rage. "Avatar or not, you are my student and you will listen to me," he growled. "I am giving you these instructions for a reason. When I say _jump_, Avatar, you say, _'how high, sir?'"_

She didn't bother to stop herself from snorting. "Sorry, Sifu," she said with a grin that was not the least bit repentant, "but if someone tells me 'jump', I'm going to jump as high as I can."


	3. On The Way Down

Korra felt shell-shocked. The life forces of a thousand Avatars coursing through her rage-wracked body had left her sapped and shaking, crouching on the damp ground, eyes squeezed shut at the chaos around her. Harsh electrical lights pried their way under her clamped lids, and the clamor and shouts and screeches around her crammed into her ears, stuffing her head full with the noise until there was nothing else.

"Get back!" boomed a voice, cutting through the crowd and vaporizing the noise. "I said, get _back!" _

Her eyes fluttered open, face scrunched up as she took in the blazing nighttime lights washing Naga's torn halter in a murky, filthy amber pool on the ground before her. People were pressed tight in around her, some of the police holding back a larger, stunned crowd of civilians while others crouched near her, trying to coax out an explanation or even a word acknowledging that she was okay. Her breathing came hard again. This felt unreal. This couldn't be happening. _Why was this happening_.

"Give the Avatar space!" the voice barked again. "Dammit, Wen Zhong, get away from her or I'll have your badge in my desk drawer first thing tomorrow morning!"

Finally, when faced with the mighty fury of their commanding officer, the crush of officers fell back. It was only a moment before the figure in question knelt before Korra, a sturdy blanket draped over one arm. The young, broken Avatar found that she couldn't look her in the eye, instead boring a hole in the leather of Naga's harness with her gaze.

"Korra," Lin said in a low voice that only she could hear. "It's okay, Korra, we're going to find her."

Korra was shaking her head slowly. With a sigh, the chief moved closer, calloused palms grasping Korra's forearms and tugging her to her feet. She dropped the blanket over Korra's shoulders and led her through the crowd, barking orders at the police to do a sweep of the area, to inspect Naga's harness for evidence, and to get the Avatar back to headquarters so Tenzin could come get her. She was about to gently push Korra onto a zeppelin to fly there when Korra, arrested by a sudden wave of stubbornness, stopped dead in her tracks.

"We don't have _time _for this, Avatar," the chief said urgently. "It's dangerous for you to–"

"Come with me," Korra blurted.

She paused. Heaved a labored sigh. "I'm needed here," she said.

Korra shook her head firmly, eyes hard and broken. "_I _need you," she whispered.

Lin scowled, pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. "Fine," she muttered. "Fine."

She pressed her hand to Korra's shoulder and steered them both into the airship, barking orders over her shoulder before the door closed. Korra barely remembered the ride later. The chief had made her sit down on a long, hard bench, and after that, it was a blur of officers and operators and pitying glances. She hated all of them with a burn in her stomach like acid gnawing.

When they touched down at headquarters, the chief led her out, guiding her through the curiously empty hallways to her office where they could wait. Korra wandered aimlessly after her, listlessly following, fists clutching the thick blanket still. It wasn't until they were in the chief's office, door shut against the outside world of people who wouldn't get it, that Korra let the first dry sob escape her.

The chief looked shocked, but Korra didn't care. She stood a few feet inside of the doorway and cried, cried so hard her breath stopped coming, cried like she never had before. Only a few minutes of this passed before hands came to rest on her shoulders with uncharacteristic timidness, drifting further back until hard, muscular arms encircled Korra and carefully cradled her against armor. Grateful for even the slightest human contact, Korra threw her arms around the chief's middle, pressed her face into her neck, and continued her mourning, her resolve for revenge and the shockingly gentle fingertips of the chief sweeping through her hair the only comfort in the world.


	4. Follow Where They Lead

Lin didn't sleep when she got home. She needed it, and badly, but her mind was churning too much with agitation for it. Profound disappointment in herself, a fist-sized stone of sadness lodged where her heart should be, and a whisper of fear were fuzing together and making it very difficult for her to quiet her mind. She needed to talk to someone, but there was only one person she really trusted enough to unload this on, only one person whose input and opinion she really cared about, and visiting them was neither easily said nor done.

Still, she drifted through her apartment like a ghost, gathering what she needed to see them. She didn't bother changing out of uniform. If she was going to stop wearing it tomorrow, then she should wear it on her visit.

When she slipped back outside, the city streets were quiet and dim. She moved with a purpose, but not with fear – few people would cross her, and she could handle those foolish enough to try.

_Unless they have those new gloves._

She faltered, shuddered, forced herself to keep moving. Try as she might, though, she couldn't push down the memory of the electric currents arcing painfully across her, arresting her limbs and taking her down. Things have been hard for a while, what with the gangs and the shaky economy, but they were only going to get worse.

It took minutes for her to reach her destination, buried deep in the winding city streets. The gates were shut and locked, as was normal for this time of night, but that didn't stop her. She Earthbended herself up, landing gracefully on the top of the worn stone wall and leaping down to land on the other side. She took in the monument-peppered field, frowning lightly, getting her bearings before she remembered where her destination was and starting in that direction.

Despite the darkness and the disorienting, maze-like layout, she found the person she was looking for quickly. She silently knelt in front of the monument, the polished black stone looking like a gaping hole in the universe at this time of night. From her bag, she withdrew the two sticks of incense she had selected and some matches. She dug the ends into the ground, struck a match, and lit them, blowing out the ends so they could smolder. She then emptied her bag of the remainder of its contents; an apple and a seeded bread roll. She carefully set them on a ledge that ran around the monument, bowing her head and letting her eyes drift shut.

"Hello, Mom," she said softly.

Silence answered her. There wasn't even a breeze stirring through the graveyard.

She took a shaky breath, studying her hands. "Things got really bad," she said. "Amon – he's even worse than what I told you before. He was getting help from Hiroshi Sato. That's how he made all of those electrical weapons. And...and he was building these...these great metal tanks. But I can't bend them. The metal is too pure."

She chewed her lip, studying the monument. The glow from the incense reflected in the surface, two quiet pinpricks of light. She tilted her head back to look up at it. Her mind's eye mapped out the angular Earthbending symbol, the dates, her mother's name in intricate calligraphy. She tentatively stretched out her hand, fingertips brushing the surface and tracing skillfully carved words. She felt overwhelmed. This wasn't enough. She badly needed her mother right now, but Toph Bei Fong's beloved Earth had taken her years ago.

She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to the smooth stone, squeezing her eyes shut.

"They took my Metalbenders, Mom," she whispered. "I've failed. I – I'm handing in my resignation tomorrow. I know...I know that's not what you might have wanted, but it's what I have to do."

She fisted the hand that was resting against the monument.

"I have to find Amon and take him down," she said. "I have to free my Metalbenders. And I can't do that when Councilman Tarrlok is binding me like he is. I'm still going to try to protect the city, Mom, but, please understand, I'm...I'm doing it my way." She slumped forward, leaning on the ledge. "Am I...am I doing the right thing?"

When no response was offered, she curled closer to the cold stone, as close as she could get, so that when she spoke, her voice was in a whisper that only her mother could hear.

"I failed you. I failed our city. And I don't know if this is the right way, but it's the only way. I can't let him get away with this."

There was no answer, not that Lin was expecting one. She stayed like that, draped over her mother's towering tombstone, until the smell of incense tapered out. She lifted her head – the sticks had gone out. She must have been here for an hour. With a sigh, she picked herself up, scooping up the book of matches and the empty bag. She allowed herself a brief prayer, learned years ago at Avatar Aang's knee, before she started back towards home. Her feet carried her through the cemetery and back onto the streets with an ease she did not share. When she finally got home, she dropped the bag and the matches listlessly inside the door, shedding her armor as quickly as possible and tugging on the first clean shirt and pants she found. Exhaustion was finally overriding her clamoring mind, and at long last, she fell into her bed on top of the covers. Sleep quickly claimed her.

No answers came in the night, not a single whisper of her mothers voice. But she slept very soundly and dreamt of mountains and and underground arenas, the smell of campfires and open, dusty roads, and when she awoke, she felt completely at peace.


	5. Detour

**_borra oneshot,_**takes place in the future. they be married. with babies.

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><p>The ringing of the phone jarred Korra violently from her focus on the report in front of her. She shot the phone a death glare, having not two minutes prior instructed her secretary not to disturb her again, before snatching up the receiver with more force than necessary.<p>

"What is it?" she said flatly, turning a page of the report and continuing to scowl down at it.

"Avatar Korra, it's your husband again. I'm afraid he's insisting."

She groaned, dropping her head into one hand. "I have a ridiculous amount of paperwork to get through. I don't have time for this."

"He said it was urgent," the woman said. There was a moment's pause before she continued, voice hesitant. "It did sound rather serious, ma'am."

She dragged her hand down her face, finally giving into the urge to drop her forehead down against the desk with a dull bang. Bolin would pay for this. "All right, put him through."

She sat up and placed the receiver back in its cradle, clenched fist propping up her head as she glared at the phone. A second later, it rang again, and she snatched it up quickly.

"Bo, what on earth is it?" she deadpanned, turning another page in the report. "Did An Ling-"

"Korra, you need to go home."

She froze halfway through the turn, the paper wilting in her hand. "I'm sorry?"

"Just listen to me, sweetie," he said, his voice fuzzy and distant. "That case that's had the department at it's wits end, the people who keep getting their organs crushed? Well, we're almost positive now he's a bloodbender-"

"I could have told you that," she grumbled, glancing down to scan the next page.

"-and we think he's targeting high-profile people and their families."

She paused, glancing up at the phone. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone who has been killed so far either has been working for the Council or was somehow related to a Councilmember," he clarified. "And they're getting bolder. They might start attacking Councilmembers next. I just...I know you can handle yourself, but I don't want you leaving too late, okay?"

She felt like a fist was gripping her heart. Swallowing down her fear, she nodded. "Okay, Bo. I'm...I'm going to finish reading this report, but then I'll head straight home. Promise."

"As long as you're prepared."

She reached up and smoothed her hair with one shaking hand, sitting back in her chair. "Are you headed home now?"

"Yeah, I-"

There was a pause, and Korra thought she heard distant shouts.

"Bolin?"

He returned a second later. "I have to go. I think something happened at the other end of the block, I'm going to try to help. Love you."

"But-"

There was a click, and the line went dead. She stared at the receiver in her hand for a moment, mind swimming, before gingerly returning it to its cradle. She blinked a few times, quietly collecting herself. She was a powerful bender, absolutely, and she was confidant that she could defeat most people easily, but bloodbenders could be tricky. Her run-ins with them in the past did nothing to reassure her.

She roused herself from her thoughts to return her attention to the report, determined to finish it before going home. But the words swam on the page in front of her, blurring and mixing. Her focus was gone. She stared blankly at the paper, waiting for the words to click, but they didn't. When she finally realized that she had read the same paragraph ten times and still had yet to take in a single character, she decided that was enough. These reports were important, but if she couldn't concentrate on them, what was the point?

With a sigh, she swept them into a messy stack, stuffing a couple of them in her bag to take home and work on tonight if she had the time. The rest she left in a jumbled on her desk for her to tackle tomorrow. Moving quickly, she left her office, making a beeline for Tenzin's. She had been scared that he'd gone home already, but he was still there, jotting something down on a piece of paper when she rapped her knuckles sharply on the open door.

"Bolin just called me," she said without preamble when he lifted his eyes to look at her. "Apparently there's a bloodbender who's been attacking people connected to the Council. He's worried they might start coming after us next."

Expression stern, he nodded. "Good thinking on his part." He set down his pen, carefully stacking his paperwork, tapping the edges against the desk to make sure they were even before he set about tidying up the rest of his desk. Korra exerted the monumental effort necessary to not roll her eyes at his meticulousness.

"Jinora is at my place," she said as he met her at the door. "Do you want to come and get her."

"Of course," he said. "I'll fly Oogi there right away. Be careful driving."

"I will."

The next half hour passed in a haze. She drove home to find Tenzin already there, seated at her kitchen table. Her heart fell a bit when she saw that her husband was absent. She hadn't truly expected him to be there, but she had still hoped.

Jinora greeted her brightly, An Ling perched on her shoulders while Tonraq lay sprawled on the floor, absently scribbling on a picture he drew.

"Whatcha drawing there, kid?" she asked by way of greeting, stooping down to brush a kiss against his hair.

"Car," he muttered, frowning in concentration.

"Looks good," she smiled. Standing, she pulled Jinora into a quick embrace before wrestling her laughing daughter off of her shoulders. "Thanks so much for watching them."

"It wasn't a problem," Jinora said reassuringly.

"Were they okay?" she asked, balancing An Ling to one hip as she fished around in her bag for some money to give Jinora.

"They were fine," she said. "An Ling spilled some lychee juice on her shirt, but I have it soaking. It'll come right out."

"Did they eat?"

"They did."

"Great," Korra said breathlessly, pulling out a fistful of yuans and thrusting them at Jinora. "Here you go."

"Korra-"

"I'm not arguing with you about this every time you babysit for me," she said firmly. "Just take the damn money."

"Mommy said a bad word!" An Ling shrieked gleefully, seizing the tied-off bangs closest to her and pulling on them none-too-gently.

Jinora glanced back at her father hesitantly before taking the money with a sigh. "You know I don't mind watching them, Korra. You don't have to give me money for it."

"You do Bolin and I more of a favor with this than you probably know," she said, carefully wresting her hair from her youngest child's grip. "We're grateful."

"We should get home," Tenzin said, resting one hand on Jinora's shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow, Korra."

She nodded, following them to the door. "Have a good night. And thank you again, Jinora."

After they had left and Korra had bolted the door, she returned to the kitchen. "All right, kids. Time for bed."

"No!" An Ling exclaimed, latching her arms tight around Korra's neck. "We can't go to bed until Daddy gets home!"

"He promised to play with us!" Tonraq said, looking indignant.

"Something came up," Korra hedged, ignoring the knot of fear in her stomach. "He had to stay and work late-"

"Then let us stay up until he gets home!" Tonraq demanded, throwing his crayon down.

She frowned at him. "Not if you're going to use that tone. Get up. It's time to get ready for bed."

"_Please_, Mommy?" An Ling wheedled.

"I said _no."_

Finally giving in, Tonraq heaved a sigh, scooping up his crayons and his paper. He separated one from the stack, setting it on the table before trudging off to his room to put away his things. With a sigh of her own, Korra set An Ling down on the ground, smoothing her bangs away from her face. "Let's get you changed."

When her kids were finally in their beds (after no small amount of arguing) and Korra had changed out of her work clothes, she killed the lights in the living room and trudged back to the kitchen, leaning heavily on the doorframe when she got there. She was tired, but not tired enough to override her worry about Bolin. Now that the kids were taken care of, she allowed herself to feel the breadth and depth of her fear. He didn't say what was going on, but it sounded like there was some sort of altercation that he was going to try to help out with.

"He's fine," she muttered to no one. "He can handle himself."

She glanced up at the table and noticed the picture Tonraq had left, sitting in the circle of harsh light shining down from above it. Pushing the sleep from her eyes, she drew closer and scooped it up. It was a picture of Bolin in his armor. The shaky, sloppy characters running along the top of the page identified him as a hero.

She sighed and set it back down, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes. Her stomach rumbled slightly, and she realized she hadn't eaten since lunch. She would make some tea, grab some food, and sit down with her reports. She didn't intend on going to sleep until Bolin was home; she might as well do something productive while she waited.

But as the evening dragged on and night took over, the gnawing worry in her gut consumed her. After a couple of pages, she stopped taking the report in, her mind as far away from the paperwork as it could get. Her untouched bowl of rice got cold; her half-drunk tea grew tepid.

She couldn't stop herself from glancing up at the kitchen doorway every few minutes. She kept telling herself that he would just be a few more minutes, just a few more, just a few more, but an hour (and two, and three) passed and he wasn't there.

It was almost midnight when she finally moved. She heated up her rice with her firebending and made some fresh tea, forcing herself to eat and drink if only to distract herself. When she was done, though, she had nothing to take her mind off the fact that the last time she spoke to her husband he sounded like he was in trouble, and now he still wasn't home.

Giving up on reading the reports, she put her bowl and chopsticks in the sink, refilled her tea, turned out the light, and sat back down at the table. The teacup was scalding against her hands, but she kept them wrapped around it. The lights of the city that shone through the window gave the room an odd, dull yellow tint, one that Korra still wasn't used to.

Anger welled up in her chest in spite of herself. She was exhausted and afraid and absolutely beside herself with worry. Couldn't Bolin have lingered a moment longer to tell her what was happening? Couldn't he have called? Did he go back to headquarters? Or was he still on the streets somewhere, fighting or wounded or...

"Don't," she said out loud, startled by the sound of her own voice.

She couldn't think about the possibility of him being anything but okay. She couldn't.

Another hour past. Her tea was still sitting in the cup, stone-cold and unpalatable. She was starting to think about calling down to headquarters, or even going there herself, when she heard the resounding click of the deadbolt unlocking.

She glanced up at the doorway, heart pounding, and a moment later, Bolin slipped into the kitchen. He didn't look at her, probably didn't even notice her, but she watched him closely. He picked up the teakettle and glanced inside, heaving a sigh as he moved to fill it up with water. After he turned the stove back on and set it down on top, he grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl, turning to face Korra and jumping a mile high when he saw her at the table.

"Korra!" he exclaimed, dropping the apple in surprise. "I..." He coughed, looking uncertain. "I thought you'd be asleep."

"Did you?" she asked, her voice edged with steel.

Even in the dim light, she could see him wince at her tone. "Korra..."

"It's almost 1:30 in the morning," she said coldly. "Explain yourself."

"A fight broke out down the street from the pay phone I used to call you," he said in a rush. "There was a couple of Earthbenders picking on this nonbender and...well, turns out they were part of the Triple Threat, and one thing led to another-"

"You didn't try to _stop _them?"

"I did," he admitted, glancing down. "I couldn't do it, though. I was outnumbered. Luckily, someone in the neighborhood called the police so I got backup pretty fast."

She swore softly under her breath, resting her head in her hands.

"Bolin, what were you thinking?" she whispered, glaring up at him again. "You could have _died!"_

"I know," he said, grimacing lightly. "I'm sorry, Korra. I didn't mean to worry you."

Her fists clenched on the tabletop.

"Five hours!"

"I know."

"_Five, _Bolin!"

"I know. I'm sorry."

Her nails bit into her skin. "You couldn't have taken two minutes to call _your wife_ and let her know you were okay?" she asked, seething. "I had no idea where you were! I didn't know if you were back at headquarters or wounded in an alley or..."

She choked, cutting off and staring down at the tabletop. Her heart was racing, rage and fear fuzing together in her veins and making her shake.

"Korra, I'm sorry," he said again, voice so soft she almost missed the words. "You're right, you're absolutely right, I should have called you and let you know I was okay once I got back to headquarters. I'm so sorry."

She sighed and shook her head, reaching up to cradle her temples again.

"Go change out of your armor," she said tiredly. "I'll fix your tea and get you some noodles to eat."

He recognized Korra accepting an apology when he saw it and slipped out of the kitchen. After taking a moment to compose herself further, she finally pushed herself to her feet. She switched on the light and poured two cups of tea for them. She was about to use her Firebending to heat up some noodles when she heard Bolin walk back in.

"I know you didn't mean to worry me, Bo," she said, exhaustion lacing her voice as she heated the noodles. "But...damn, I didn't know what had happened, you know?" She plucked up the bowl. "You just left so-"

She froze, staring at him with wide eyes. With the light hanging above the table chasing away the shadows inhabiting the kitchen when he walked in, she could now clearly see the scrapes on the side of his face, the gash running from the corner of his downturned mouth up to his ear, the nasty bruises already forming on his shoulder and neck.

"Oh...my..."

He looked puzzled for a split second before it dawned on him how he must look. His eyes went wide and he held his hands up in a placating gesture. "It's okay, Korra, it's...not as bad as it looks! Really!"

"Sit down," she ordered in a shaky voice, setting the bowl down on the counter with a nervous clatter. He obeyed quickly, pulling a chair out with his foot and dropping down into it. Korra pulled some water from the sink, immersed her hands in it, and started her healing.

"Is anything broken?" she asked gruffly, smoothing away the nicks and cuts on his face before moving to see to his shoulder.

"No," he said, shifting to accommodate her healing. "My ribs hurt, they're bruised pretty badly, but it's nothing permanent. I think."

She sighed and pushed his shirt up. Sure enough, bruises had blossomed across his ribcage, turning his skin a mottled purple.

"What did you _do," _she grumbled as she continued her healing.

He hesitated. "I...I might have been hit by a boulder. ...Or two."

She paused, giving her head a slow shake before she continued. "You're lucky you just have bruises."

"I know," he said softly as she finished up. She pulled the shirt back down and lifted her head to look him in the eye.

"I'm happy you're okay," she muttered after a moment, leaning forward to press her forehead to his shoulder.

"...Yeah," he said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her more securely into his lap. "Me, too."

Korra sighed and shifted, pressing a kiss against his cheek before she carefully detangled herself from his arms. "Food," she said distantly as she started for the counter. "Food then bed. You can't tell me you're not exhausted."

"I guess I am pretty tired," he admitted, accenting the statement with a yawn and a stretch.

By the time they had both eaten, cleaned up, and started for their bedroom, it was past two in the morning. The morning would be very unpleasant indeed.

When they lay down, though, neither went to sleep. Korra curled up against Bolin, gripping his shirt for all she was worth and blinking back tears she didn't know had welled in her eyes, and Bolin spent what felt like an age just holding her and stroking her back, periodically brushing kisses against the top of her head.

Dawn's light saw their room before sleep took them.


	6. Easy Wind and Downy Flake

**Author's note in the interest of proper citation: the stanzas featured at the start and finish of this one shot are the first and last stanzas, respectively, of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost.**

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><p><em>Whose woods these are, I think I know.<em>

_His house is in the village, though;_

_He will not see us stopping here_

_To watch his woods fill up with snow._

"Chief Bei Fong?"

Lin didn't respond to the tentative articulation of her name, pretending that she didn't hear her traveling companion speak at all. Unfortunately, she had few excuses to hide behind out here in the wilderness of the Southern Earth Kingdom. Winter had finally flooded the land here with its icy winds, the brutal cold crashing against the hapless plants to leave a fine film of frost, foamy drifts of snow shifting beneath them in its wake. It was wetter than it looked, the snow, not at all the tiny knots of fluff it looked to be when it fell from the sky.

Korra watched her expectantly for a moment longer before returning her gaze to the tranquil scene before them, the snowy evening a soft blue. This was nothing new for Korra, Lin reminded herself. She spent her life in the snow.

Vaguely, Lin recalled a time when she asked her mother if she could see the snow. Seven-year-old Lin understood how her mother's eyesight worked and also knew that the cold, wet snows that blanketed the city were most decidedly not Earth in nature. In lieu of a response, Toph cocked her head to one side in a way that would come to set off warning bells in Lin's mind - it was the look Toph always gave when one of her officers back-talked her, or when she caught Lin sneaking out to see Tenzin, or when Aunt Katara found something to fuss over.

The crafty grin that quirked the corner of Toph's mouth did not give Lin ample time to duck from the snowball that her mother quickly scooped up, smashed into a projectile, and hurled at her daughter. It hit Lin square in the cheek, causing her to shriek in shock and fall backwards into a drift, flurries spiraling around her.

"I can see well enough to do that!" Toph had laughed, barely ducking in time to miss the snowball her daughter had lobbed back at her.

That was almost half a century ago, Lin realized aimlessly. She tilted her head back to peer up at the sky, ink black like her mother's hair used to be, pinpricks of snow falling away from the void like so many stars, swirling around the snarl of tree branches that seemed to hold the night sky up only to settle on drifts, on branches, on her, on the ostrich-horse pulling the wagon they bought to take them across a section of the road that a satomobile could not traverse, on Korra, on the cracked surface of the frozen lake before them.

"It's nice," she said, making Korra jump visibly. "The quiet."

Korra tilted her head at Lin. "Yeah?"

"Yes." She shifted her hands, flexing her fingers to tempt warmth and feeling back into the digits. "Like life is holding its breath while the snow falls."

"But there's nothing out here," Korra argued, brushing some of the snow out of her hair. "No houses, no farm, nothing. Just trees."

"Trees are alive."

Korra frowned. "Trees don't hold their breath. They can't breathe."

Here, Lin allowed her a rare smile, her furrowed brows ruining the effect.

"You truly have much to learn, Avatar Korra."

Korra rolled her eyes, folding her arms over her middle and hunching over. "It's just woods on a snowy evening," she said. "Nothing special."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Lin said softly, "but Tenzin said that you have to find hints of the spirits in ordinary places, didn't he?" She nodded out to the darkening woods. "Find them here."

There was a rush of a sigh like an icy sweep of the winter wind, then silence. It stretched long enough that Lin glanced back over, suspecting that Korra had fallen asleep. But no - she was meditating. Or at least she was trying to meditate. The perturbed scowl on her face did not bode well.

Finally, Korra let out a low growl and popped her eyes open, grinning brilliantly at Lin. "Good news! I found the spirits!"

"Did you?"

"Yes!"

"And did they impart any wisdom?"

"Yes." She hunkered down, a shiver running through her. "They said we should get out of these stupid woods and continue on towards Gaoling."

"How convenient."

"You don't want to disobey the spirits, do you?" Korra challenged with a surprisingly wicked grin, eyes glinting in the pitiful half-light.

"Of course not," Lin confirmed, flicking the reins. With a disgruntled sound, the ostrich-horse started moving again, dragging them down the slowly disappearing road.

_These woods are lovely, dark and deep._

_But I have promises to keep, _

_And miles to go before I sleep,_

_And miles to go before I sleep._


	7. Know Not What We May Be

**I wrote this back in June right after the episode where Lin lost her bending. I published it on my writing tumblr but only just now realized I never uploaded it here.**

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><p>It took several minutes for Toph to realize that Lin was no longer sitting on the floor where she had last sensed her.<p>

Her daughter had been sitting cross-legged on a blanket spread on the floor of the office of Toph's Metalbending school, reading a picture book Aang had given her to her stuffed badger-mole while Toph had a lengthy discussion with one of her students. Normally, she always paid attention to where Lin was, but she got so wrapped up that she didn't think to watch her, and when her student finally excused himself, she turned her attention to her daughter only to find that she wasn't there.

"Lin?" she called out, astonished. How had the girl gotten away so fast? Had Toph's mind really wandered for so long? Hearing no response, she pushed herself to her feet, focusing hard on the ground, searching with mounting panic and desperation for her daughter.

Finally, she caught sight of her, a shade flitting through the network of trees outside of the school. She knew her heartbeat like she knew her own. With a small sigh of relief, she made her way outside, walking over to where the woods met her school and pausing at its threshold.

"Lin!" she called. Her voice boomed, echoing, and her slip of a little girl paused in her trek, turning only for the time it takes to take a breath before she continued on through the woods.

Toph frowned. That wasn't like Lin. She knew Toph could see her, and she knew to come when Toph called. Why was she going on like that, heedless of her mother's voice?

Slowly, Toph entered the forest. She liked the woods a great deal, she always had. To her Earthbending sense, they looked marvelous, roots gripping the earth to hold up towering trees. She felt an affinity for them, both for the roots dug deep into the earth and for the great trees that barely touched it, and whenever people expressed sympathy to her for not being able to see things like the moon and the stars, she only laughed; she had her forests, she had the mountains, and she was happy. She never wanted anything else.

Lin had paused in a glade near what felt like a stream. She took a stance, and Toph realized suddenly what she was doing. Lin was an Earthbender, but the element didn't come quite as easily to her as it did to her mother. She struggled. Toph tried not to put too much pressure on her, not wanting Lin to do something she had no interest in doing, but Lin responded to this by putting pressure on herself, constantly pushing to become a more adequate Earthbender, begging Toph for longer practices and sneaking off to work with the earth even when Toph said no.

She wasn't far from the glade when she started hearing her daughter's grunts of exertion and frustrated complaints.

"Come on, come on, come...no! Ugh! Earth, just work with me!"

She was struggling. She managed to lift a boulder half her size a few inches off the ground only for it to fall again. Toph reached the edge of the glade and leaned against the nearest tree, not speaking, not alerting Lin to her presence, just taking in her daughter. She reset her stance and tried again, arms shaking with exertion as she tried to lift it again. It levitated, shuddered, and fell.

"Shoot!" she groaned, falling back to the ground and leaning back heavily, panting. She paused, and Toph felt her tilt her head enough that she could see her. There was a long moment of silence where neither of them spoke or moved. Lin could see her, and she knew that Toph was looking back in her own way. Toph didn't move, though. She stayed leaning against the tree, stock-still as she observed her daughter.

About five minutes passed before Lin turned back facing forward. She pushed herself to her feet. Toph could feel her breathing, her daughter taking deep breaths the way she taught her to. She took a strong horse stance, clenched her fists, and took hold of the boulder again. Slowly, it lifted off of the ground. She got it up in the air until she was eye level with it, and then she froze.

Minutes passed. Lin started shaking, the force on her tiny body almost too much. The boulder was shaking, too, tiny pebbles falling from its body to the ground, but she held it. Toph could feel her little heart beating away furiously. Her bare feet dug into the ground, dirty and caked with mud and bits of grass.

Finally, when she couldn't possibly hold it a second longer, she heaved and threw the boulder into the stream. Toph felt it splash down. Lin was promptly doubled over, hands on her knees, panting. It took her a moment, but she caught her breath, turning to face her mom, hands pushing hair away from her face, and bowed.

Something caught in Toph's throat, and after mere seconds spent watching her daughter, beaten and proud, bow before her, she shut the distance between them in a matter of strides, enfolding the girl in a pair of strong arms and holding her against her heart.

"You're a fighter, all right," she said in a low voice as Lin hugged her back, her face pressed into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry I ran away," Lin said, pulling back and angling her face downwards.

"It's okay," Toph said, cupping her cheek and smiling softly. "I know how dedicated you are to your Earthbending."

"I wanted to hold it for longer," she said, frowning lightly. "I'm sorry I couldn't."

"Don't apologize, Lin, please," she insisted. She lifted her second hand, framing Lin's face, thumbs running along the line of her nose and ridges of her eyebrows. "I'm proud of you, you know. I'm proud of how strong you are, how determined."

Lin paused thoughtfully before she asked in a small voice, "Would you be proud of me even if I wasn't an Earthbender?"

Toph blinked a couple of times, swallowing hard. "...Of course. Of course, Lin. You're brave. You're already very brave and strong. I'd be proud of that no matter what."

The girl was quiet for a long moment, probably studying her mother closely. She reached up to place her hands over Toph's and said, "I'm going to be a great Earthbender, like you."

She laughed softly. "You don't have to be like me. You don't -"

"I want to," Lin pressed.

Toph was about to argue further, but she thought better of it. A wide smile spread across her face.

"In that case," she said, "you're going to be the greatest Earthbender of all time."


	8. Coffee Shop Soundtrack

**KorraXAsami coffee shop AU, very rough, done on a whim and not really edited. I have no excuse.**

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><p>When she opened the door, a rancorous din greeted her. It was so obnoxious that she almost turned around and left right then, but she needed a place to work on her essay and plenty of caffeine to pull her through the impending all-nighter, so she sucked it up and entered.<p>

The source of a lot of the noise was the too-loud laughter and conversations of the patrons - that was to be expected. Not helping the matter was a sulking boy with a guitar sitting in the stage area, surrounded by a tiny cluster of microphones and music stands and a keyboard and some drums bordered on two sides by the floor-to-ceiling windows and the glass-walled vestibule, one side by the entrance to the kitchen, and one side to the seating area.

She groaned loudly as she passed the boy, shooting him a glare before pausing at the cash register. The barista was nowhere to be found. She glanced around the prep area uncertainly, drumming her fingers against the tea menu taped to the shiny black countertop, before turning back around with a sigh and leaned against the counter. She idly plucked a newspaper from the wire rack next to her, thumbing through the pages as she waited.

A man who Korra knew to work there noticed her, stopped scrolling lazily down a webpage on the computer in the corner of the stage area, leaned back, and yelled, "HEY! ASAMI! Stop slacking, you have a customer!"

Korra scowled at him over her newspaper, but before she could say anything, she heard a voice from behind the counter.

"Sorry!" A flurry of paper and a clatter. "Sorry, I didn't mean to keep you waiting!"

She tore her glowering eyes away from the man to address the barista. "It's okay, I didn't think...you..."

Korra trailed off, swallowing hard. She didn't recognize this barista, and her name had already slipped her mind, but she was immediately captivated. Even in a stained apron and faded makeup and hair in a messy ponytail, she was gorgeous.

"...Sorry," Korra said, composing herself. "I, um. I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"It's why I'm here," she reassured Korra, cheerful despite the tiredness on her face. She uncapped her pen. "What can I get for you?"

"Uh...a bagel, please. And a medium coffee. Just a little bit a sugar, no cream."

"Is that all?"

"Yeah."

"Four dollars, please."

She slid a twenty across the counter, staring down at her hand. "I...what was your name again, sorry?"

"Asami."

"Asami," she repeated. "Thank you, Asami."

"You don't have to thank me for doing my job," Asami said, handing her back her change with a smile. Her fingertips brushed Korra's palm, and she wanted to enclose her hand around them. Instead, she folded her change neatly and stuck it very deliberately in the tip jar.

"That's yours," she said, flicking her eyes up to take in the stunned look on Asami's face. "Make sure you take it before your shift ends."

Asami started to say something, but she didn't. She laughed instead, resting her forehead in one hand briefly before giving Korra a bright smile. "Thank _you_."

She tossed her a grin, turning around to take a seat - but not before pausing to glare at the man at the computer again.

"You could stand to treat your employees nicer, you know," she snapped. "It's not like she was ignoring me on purpose."

Not waiting for him to muster a response, she swept back to the back corner, taking up her preferred haunt at a table next to a potted plant against the back wall. She detangled some headphones so she could drown out the distracting bullshit around her and started on her work, so focused that she didn't notice when Asami came over with her order.

She jumped when Asami set down the plate an inch from her hand, jerking out her headphones. "Wh - did you say something?"

"I asked if you were doing homework," she said, setting the steaming coffee down next to the plate.

"Oh - yeah, I am. It's just an essay. Dumb history stuff, super boring."

"Due tomorrow?"

"Yeah," she laughed weakly, grin sheepish. "I'm pretty bad about procrastination."

"Well...good luck," Asami said, crossing her arms over her stomach and smiling again. "Let me know if you need anything else."

"I will," Korra said, giving her a quick smile in return before going back to her work.

Hours passed, and Korra's headway was not what she wanted it to be. She was slumped in her chair at an uncomfortable angle, hand gripping her hair and a pen clenched angrily between her teeth. She had papers and the few books she brought from the library scattered around her until there wasn't an inch of visible table space left, a notebook with scratched-out scribbles and highlighted phrases at her side as she glared morosely at her computer screen.

She wasn't expecting Asami to reappear at her elbow, gingerly clearing away some of the papers until she had a large enough space to set down a fresh cup of coffee. Korra glanced up at her from her work, frozen in comic bewilderment. "Huh?"

Asami shrugged. "You looked stressed. I thought you could use more."

"Oh." She took the pen out of her mouth sheepishly, sticking it behind her ear instead. "Thank you." She sat up, fishing in one of her cargo pockets for her wallet. "How much is a coffee, again?"

"This one's free."

Korra blinked, stunned. "What?"

"I took care of it," she clarified, glancing at the register over her shoulder. No more customers yet, luckily.

Korra frowned lightly, picking up the cup and taking a sip. It was prepared how she liked it. Did she seriously remember her order? She took it almost four hours ago and had countless customers since then.

"You didn't have to," she said softly, setting the cup back down.

"I know," Asami said, amused. "I wanted to, though."

"...Thank you," Korra said again. "I appreciate it."

"It's not a problem." She backed away reluctantly, smile in place. "Good luck on your paper."

Korra didn't notice the phone number written on the drink's cardboard sleeve until she had taken another long sip and almost choked when it finally clicked what it was. She swallowed, coughing and leaning down until her head rested against the paper-covered table in hopes that it hid her goofy grin, and slipped the sleeve off from around the cup. Setting it aside so she didn't forget, she got back to work, mood soaring despite the long night ahead.


End file.
